GettyAriana Grande’s drummer has described the heartbreaking moment he and the rest of the band realised a bomb had detonated at their Manchester gig last night.
In an interview with Fox News Aaron Spears discussed the moment the band realised that a terror attack was under way and admitted that the ‘painful memory will live with them all forever’
Panicking at Victoria Station after @ArianaGrande concert. Hope everyone is all safe and well. pic.twitter.com/6Q5WNXFkFO
— Zach Bruce (@Zach_Bruce) May 22, 2017
The band were on the way to their dressing room when the bomb went off and security teams evacuated Aaron, Ariana Grande and the rest of their team seconds after the bang was heard.
Aaron sent his account of tragic attack to Steve Chenevey a journalist at Fox News who subsequently shared it on social media.
FacebookHe wrote:
We finished the show and we were walking back to our dressing rooms and BOOM!!! We could hear people we had no idea what it was… There was all kinds of speculation as to what was going on…
Like 5 minutes after getting to the room, security came in and informed us that we had to evacuate the building immediately.
It was then that we realised this was serious. Initially we thought that the sound was all kinds of things but it didn’t hit that this was a bomb until we were evacuated and they told us exactly what was going on.
NEW: video from inside the Ariana concert in Manchester when the explosion took place. https://t.co/7vu4ATEzpP
— The Rouser (@RouserNews) May 23, 2017
Realising what had happened Aaron spoke of his heartbreak at the thought of Ariana’s young fans being hurt in the explosion.
He continued:
It’s so heartbreaking because so many little ones attend our shows… I just keep thinking about them.’
Aaron finished by confirming that Ariana and the rest of the team escaped the Manchester Arena unharmed but added they will be mentally scarred by the shocking attack which killed 22 and injured 119.
PA,Ariana posted on Twitter that she was ‘broken’ following the attack adding she was ‘so so sorry’ following the attack at her concert on Monday.
Meanwhile Scooter Braun, Ariana’s manager said that ‘our hearts are broken’ and that words can’t express their sorrow for the victims and families harmed in this senseless attack.
He went on to thank emergency services in Manchester for their response to the attack before finishing: ‘We ask all of you to hold the victims, their families, and all those affected in your hearts and prayers.’
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.